Selena Gomez has been busy writing music. She hinted at a new song, “Lose You To Love Me,” on her Instagram about two weeks before it dropped, confirming the suspicions less than a week before the release date. Fans of Gomez were ecstatic to finally hear music that the artist has been working on.
Recently, she has released remixes with other artists and songs for Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why,” for which she serves as the executive producer. Those songs have been upbeat and fun, meant for mainstream media, but this song moved in a different direction.
Gomez’s new song is a personal recount of her life since she released her last album, “Revival,” in 2016. “Lose You To Love Me” details her self-love journey and the struggles she has had with it.
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The melody itself is simple, and the vocals do not demand attention. Even the music video is plain, just Gomez lip-syncing the song in plain clothing in the same room. Despite the simplicity, the video garnered over 18 million views in 24 hours.
Everything about the song is light except the lyrics, which cut deep. The song opens with a gut-wrenching tale of a toxic relationship. “You promised the world and I fell for it” starts the song off strong, immediately pulling the listener into Gomez’s experiences. She continues, “Set fires to my forest / and you let it burn.”
Gomez narrates the trauma of this relationship before coming to the conclusion, the chorus: She needed to lose him to love herself. In the end, she is more important than he is.
She continues in the second verse, lamenting again about her relationship, providing background for the healing process she wishes to share, “I gave my all and they all know it / then you tore me down and now it’s showing.”
In the bridge, she repeats the first verse, emphasizing her previous statements. Gomez will not let listeners forget.
This song has received backlash from haters of Gomez. Surprisingly, though I suppose it shouldn’t be, Hailey Bieber (formerly Baldwin) expressed her hatred of the song. Very shortly after the song’s release, Bieber posted a screenshot on her Instagram story of her listening to the song “I’ll Kill You” by Summer Walker, featuring Jhené Aiko.
Recently, Hailey Bieber married Justin Bieber, Gomez’s well-known ex, so the dig was probably in defense of her new husband. The song “Lose You To Love Me” is presumably about Justin Bieber. Gomez shows this through lines like “In two months, you replaced us / like it was easy.” Two months after Bieber and Gomez ended their long-term relationship, he was spotted with his wife-to-be.
The title of the song is another potential reference to him. Back in 2015, Bieber released “Love Yourself.” The title comes from the line “Oh baby you should go and love yourself.” Gomez’s new track is proof that she is, but Gomez quickly surprised fans even more. Just one day after releasing “Lose You To Love Me,” she dropped another song, titled “Look At Her Now.”
“Look At Her Now” is the complete opposite of “Lose You To Love Me.” This new track is upbeat, fast and full of pounding production that begs listeners to dance. It is reminiscent of some of her previous work, with her breathy and delicate vocals over intense beats.
The lyrics are still deep, but this time covered by the nature of the song. She sings, “What a thing to be human / Made her more of a woman,” yet the focus is on the EDM sounds rather than the vocals.
The music video matches the tempo of “Look At Her Now.” Featuring Gomez surrounded by female dancers, this video is full of bright colors, flashing lights and choreography. Gomez pulls out her dancing skills to hit a move on each beat of the song, constantly in motion.
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In the video, she wears a slicked back braid and all black and grey, sparkly clothing to match the backup dancers. She looks almost robotic, which fits with the repetitive sound of the chorus.
Fans of Gomez are obviously thrilled; they just got two songs and videos in one week, with songs that she has said she has been working on for years now. “Lose You To Love Me” shot to No. 1 on the iTunes chart, blocking any of Kanye West’s new songs from earning that honor. Even unintentionally, Gomez is still looking out for longtime pal Taylor Swift.
According to Main Pop Data on Twitter, Gomez became the first artist in history to ever occupy the top two spots on YouTube U.S., YouTube Worldwide, iTunes U.S. and the Worldwide iTunes song chart.
Music reviewers are singing Gomez’s praises for “Lose You To Love Me” but, as mentioned earlier, she has been receiving some backlash from Bieber fans. Yes, it is likely that the song is about Bieber, but does it really matter who the song is about? Artists like Gomez and her good friend Swift are often shamed for writing personal music, for writing about their own experiences with life and love.
Many articles by well-known reporting companies like USA Today, CNN and Entertainment Weekly wrote about the track, focusing on the relationship rather than the lyrics. It is truly unfortunate to see the public focus on the drama behind the story rather than how Gomez has healed. The point of the song isn’t her ex-boyfriend, but rather the growth she has made in her own security.
It is also unfortunate that even this article brought up the drama around the release, but this has become such a crucial part of the narrative at this point. Much of the attention the track received was from fans of the Biebers or people who were invested in Bieber and Gomez’s previous relationship.
Critics bash Gomez for calling out Bieber, yet these same people praise him when he does the same. Bieber fans ask her to stop talking about him, to get over it, yet he has previously referenced her in his music. I guess I can’t hope for there to stop being a double standard. Nevertheless, I’m glad Gomez has healed enough to tell us about it.
